Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Herb Alpert Presents (1968 Japanese A&M King Gatefold Vinyl LP)

Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 | Vinyl LP - 1968 Japanese A&M Gatefold (AML 15, King Record Co.)

Sérgio Mendes trained as a classical pianist in Brazil before bossa nova pulled him into the Rio clubs alongside Jobim and João Gilberto. He moved to the States in 1964, and after a false start as Brasil '65 he landed at Herb Alpert's A&M with a reworked group and a formula that clicked straight away. Lani Hall sings almost all of it, her voice often double-tracked, riding over Mendes's jazz-inflected piano and a light three-man Brazilian rhythm section. The material moves easily between Brazil and America: Jorge Ben's "Mais Que Nada" gave the group its signature hit, and Jobim's "Agua De Beber" and Baden Powell's "Berimbau" sit next to a bossa reading of the Beatles' "Day Tripper" and Mancini's "Slow Hot Wind". It is light on its feet and tightly arranged, pop built on Brazilian rhythm rather than jazz for its own sake.

The record made Mendes a genuine crossover star. It reached the American Top 10, went to number two on the jazz chart, and turned "Mais Que Nada" into what Mendes always said was the first Portuguese-language song to become a hit in the United States. The Grammy Hall of Fame inducted it in 2011. Lani Hall stayed with Brasil '66 until 1971 and later married Alpert. This is the 1968 Japanese pressing on A&M, manufactured and distributed by King Record Co., issued as a gloss gatefold, Japanese liner notes on one inside panel and the English lyrics on the other.